[CaptainFunk]

Gotcha... I too experience imbalance issues from time to time... Even with my own PRIRs. It took me a while to figure out what was going on... ALLERGIES!!! It can be very frustrating.

Like you, I tried the SVS Panning... It does help a bit but only when the correction is made for the correct ear... Unfortunately, that changes on a daily... Sometimes hourly basis.

Interesting to hear that you experienced similar issues.

I think the center speaker is really hard to get right in virtualisation, I don't notice any imbalance issues with left and right speaker for example. It would be even better if the Realiser would allow setting the balance for just the Center channel, so other channels are not affected.

 

[Litlgi74]

Interesting to hear that you experienced similar issues.

I think the center speaker is really hard to get right in virtualisation, I don't notice any imbalance issues with left and right speaker for example. It would be even better if the Realiser would allow setting the balance for just the Center channel, so other channels are not affected.

The frustrating part for me is when the sound engineer incorporate just a miniscule amount of the dialogue in both the left and center or the right and center... It drives me bonkers.

 

[CaptainFunk]

You can... By using just center "C" virtual speaker when using the manloud procedure. The center channel adjustment affects only the left and right binaural of the center channel. The left and right virtual channels are not touched... Make sure to have the Man EQ spkr enabled.

The frustrating part for me is when the sound engineer incorporate just a miniscule amount of the dialogue in both the left and center or the right and center... It drives me bonkers.

The manLOUD procedure affects all channels, not just the center channel. The center channel is only used for outputting the noise during the process. This is also illustrated in some diagram in the manual.

 

[Litlgi74]

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[CaptainFunk]

Sorry... but this is not true.

Really? I have done the procedure many times and it also affected the tonality of the other speakers, not just the center speaker. I would actually love to have a manLOUD procedure for every single speaker, not just all of them at once.

 

[Litlgi74]

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[Litlgi74]

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[audiohobbit]

I agree with @CaptainFunk
As far as my understanding is based on the manual(s), the speaker selection in manLOUD procedure just determines through which virtual speaker(s) the noise is played that you hear during the procedure.
The resulting HPEQ of course then affects all the virtual speakers. L, C and R are just the 3 most important, therefore you can focus on one of these or a combination of these. If you play the noise only via the C channel, then of course you optimise the HPEQ only for the center. The result could then be that it doesn't fit for all the other speakers.
Therefore my recommendation was to try all 3 combinations, C, L+R and LCR, and then compare the results and use the manLOUD HPEQ that works best overall.

When I'm not exhausted... I post some measurements of the manLOUD procedure for you.

But essentially... manLOUD affects the output of a specific binaural microphone for a specific virtual speaker(s)...

C - left and right binaural mics of the center channel only

L R - left mic of the left channel and right mic of the right channel

LCR - left mic of the left channel and right mic of the right channel... but this adjustment also impacts both binaural mics of the center channel as well.

* I reserve the right to be completely wrong!

-> I don't understand this, to be honest.

You always change the EQing of both channels. No matter which combination of virtual speakers you hear.
And you don't hear the L virtual speaker only in the left ear, of course there is crosstalk etc.
This doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[audiohobbit]

But the main channels affected are the C, LR, or LCR.

IMO that's wrong wording. This suggests that the manLOUD HPEQ somehow affects some speakers more than others. But that's not the case. It affects all speakers equally. You just concentrate on a few most important speakers when setting the HPEQ.

 

[audiohobbit]

Interesting to hear that you experienced similar issues.

I think the center speaker is really hard to get right in virtualisation, I don't notice any imbalance issues with left and right speaker for example. It would be even better if the Realiser would allow setting the balance for just the Center channel, so other channels are not affected.

Are you using the headtracker or not?

I use headtracking with optical stabilisation all the time.
This could be a bit off-center sometimes. Then I look straight forward and do a long press of the button on the head-top, this usually centers the image then again.

However, I got more and more problems with the head tracker (with both head-tops I have, I change them from time to time).
1. The image can "jump around". This error I already got with the A8 back then. The cause seemed to be a deterioration of the IR window on the had-top, the smal plastic insert developed what Stephen Smith called striation patterns. I haven't checked the IR windows of my A16 head-tops yet though.
2. When I switch on the A16 it could be that the headtracking doesn't work at all. Usually then also 4 of the green LEDs on the set-top are illuminated indefinitely ( normally after start-up they should switch off, this is what I set in the menu), but static. So they don't move when moving the head-top. And also the angle value in the display when pressing "HT" doesn't change and stays zero. Only workaround seems to be switching off and on again. (but I must admit that I'm still on an older FW)

 

[Litlgi74]

Sorry @CaptainFunk , I messed up... when I can think clearly... I'll come back to this.

 

[audiohobbit]

The frustrating part for me is when the sound engineer incorporate just a miniscule amount of the dialogue in both the left and center or the right and center... It drives me bonkers.

This is called dialogue panning and is an essential part of movie sound mixing, so that voices follow the people on screen. I love it when it is done (correctly). I have a 9 ft wide screen and recognize it, when an actor on the side of the screen is speaking but the voice only comes out of the center.
To check the centering of the center one should always just solo the C channel.

 

[CaptainFunk]

Sorry @CaptainFunk , I messed up... when I can think clearly... I'll come back to this.

Thanks and no worries at all!

I know the manLOUD process quite well, so I was a bit confused at first. I even built my own manLOUD tool for Mac so I could more comfortably tweak the curve and hear results instantly. Dialing in everything on the Realiser is quite slow and sometimes minor tweaks make a big difference.

 

[CaptainFunk]

Are you using the headtracker or not?

I am not, I tried it once when I got my A16 but it seemed too fiddly and unreliable. I don't feel like I am missing out much.

 

[gimlet]

I am not, I tried it once when I got my A16 but it seemed too fiddly and unreliable. I don't feel like I am missing out much.

Just tried to update my firmware to 2.15 and received the below error message. Re-downloaded from the Smyth website but the same problem recurred. I haven't had any firmware problems in the past, and am currently on 2.12. However, I have an original early (89) hardware version of the A16 (16 channel rather than 24) with the DTSX and Auto software upgrades. Has anyone else had problems with the new firmware? Any advice?